used ibook no password

i got a used Ibook I cant put any apps on it because it keeps asking for
the master password before I can install anything.I can return it to the store until Jan 10th
after that Im stuck with it.
Any way to over ride pass word
running 10.4
or how can I retrive it
Ill I get is hint "bens moms name"

You need a Tiger (10.4) or later install DVD. Beg borrow or buy one and then startup the ibook from the DVD by holding the "C" key during startup. Then when the installer wants to install a new system, you can instead choose change password from the Utilities pulldown menu on the first screen (after selecting the language of your choice-It says"Welcome to the Mac OS X Installer"). Very simple process, and you don't "Have" to reinstall the OS(unless there are other problems). Then restart and you should be golden! Or this time of year, maybe a good porter?

I know this is an old post, but am just curious as to whether or not you solved the problem.

Wouldn't it be a hoot if that password was actually MOM, mom, Mom, etc.? After all, it was Ben's computer and his own mother....

If everything else was on the computer, you might have been able to check out network settings and/or locations and pull up an IP address? Sounds like there might be a whole lot of information about Ben still on that system. Poor Ben.

If the store wouldn't fix it for free, I'd return it and let them know what the problem was. Bet they'd fix it and you could then buy it back.

What store did you buy this at? Sure sounds like they don't do much of what you'd expect to be done on a resale. You certainly wouldn't want them selling a system you'd owned and hadn't wiped clean before the fact.

Boot into single-user mode. After turning on the computer, hold down Command-S until you get a text prompt (the # character on a line) on the screen.

Check the filsystem: fsck -y

Remount the boot drive as read-write: mount -uw /

Start up most of the system (but not the graphics).
In Tiger, type: sh /etc/rc
In Panther, use these commands:
/usr/libexec/register_mach_bootstrap_servers /etc/mach_init.d
(cd /var/db/netinfo ; netinfod -s local)
SystemStarter
In earlier versions, just the SystemStarter command should suffice.

Change the password of the account you want to access: passwd username where username is the short name of the account you want.

Edit: Just damn, I can't believe I didn't notice this was a year old thread before I wasted my time. Oh well. It's an appliance site not a computer site. I need to remember this going forward...... I just answered the "newest" post.

EditII: Guess I don't need to check any of the other computer help topics to see if I can help........